strawberry fields
by in cages
Summary: oo2. two falling sparks, one willing fool. —narutoino
1. i don't know where we're goin' now

**notes**: _edit_/ this is going to now be a naruino (possible inokiba) dump.

**title**: i don't know where we're goin' now  
**summary**: it's almost as if the sun has come out just for her

_i know you're tired of loving_  
_with nobody to love_

_-—_sigma

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This time of year, everyone is stressed.

Not even the warmth of the early july sunshine seems to placate the harassed students within the classrooms. There's a heavy atmosphere of _fuck, what am i doing? _that seems to drown each and every person residing within classroom 2a, especially one Yamanaka Ino. Usually cool, calm and collected; these past few weeks she's been an absolute mess. She swears she's never felt so pressured to be something in her entire life. Suddenly the idea of growing up becomes too much—a pressure filled balloon on the verge of bursting.

The only person who seems not to have gotten the memo is Naruto.

Ino is sat three rows back from the front of the classroom, her earphones plugged in, feet swinging back and forth, and her manicured fingernails tapping rhythmically against the hardwood. Her breathing is staggered and she's already got a headache. The words on the piece of paper before her are blurring into this nauseating swirl of blacks and whites and crippling decisions about adulthood. She hasn't even written her name yet and they really expect her to write what she wants to be when she's graduates high school?

It's enough to send her already exhausted brain into a freakin meltdown. Fortunately though, she's saved just in the nick of time.

The seat in front of her scrapes against the floor and a distinctly male body plops into it. The toothy grin and bright, blue eyes is enough of a given — it's Naruto, obviously having grown bored of showing the guys a video on his phone, and has instead come to save her from self-destruct mode. Ino tugs out one of her earplugs and turns down her music to a faint murmur.

"Hey boring," he smiles, resting his elbows on her desk and then leaning his chin on them.

Ino can't find the energy to shove him off so she settles for rolling her equally bright eyes. "I'm _trying _to get this done, moron," she says, conviction falling flat. How can she possibly berate him with a grin like that? "But thanks anyway. I don't think I would have allowed myself a break if you hadn't of come and distracted me."

Naruto shrugs — as if it's simply routine. Maybe it is. "You were swinging your legs back and forth furiously," he comments, "it was kinda scary." he lifts one arm and rests his chin in that palm, eyes scanning the decidedly empty piece of paper Ino has been lamenting over for the past fifteen minutes, "Why're you stressing over this anyway? It's just some dumb piece of paper. It's not going to _define _you, Ino." when he looks back at her, he catches the way her jaw flexes and eyes harden.

It bothers her because she doesn't know where she wants to go. Who she wants to be. Time has slipped through her fingers faster than water through a tap and its finally caught up to her and, well, she hasn't exactly accomplished much in her eighteen years of being alive. It worries her. Scares her. _Terrifies _her. That she hasn't got a plan, hasn't got a clue; she's just drifting afloat and is in severe danger of drowning very soon.

"I don't know," she says instead, looking away.

They lapse into comfortable silence for a while. The background noise simmers and all Ino really sees is the way Naruto flips her paper around and picks up her pen. He drums his fingers three times against the desk and then a small, adorable smile tugs at his lips as he begins writing. She doesn't even reprimand him when his miserable excuse for handwriting messes up her document, just watches with large, curious eyes. Once he's done he flips it back around and gives her a cheesy thumbs up. One that distinctly resembles their P.E teacher, Might Gai.

Ino dismisses it and looks down, teeth chewing tentatively on her bottom lip.

**In 5 - 10 years where to do you see yourself? **  
_Still a strong, beautiful woman who don't need no man. _

**Desired career? **  
_Whatever I want to be, I can be, 'ttebayo!_

**Finally, what do you think your skills are? Why? **  
_- Caring (always looking after Naruto (the most attractive guy ever))__  
__- Funny (definitely funnier than Kiba anyways (the lamest guy ever))_  
_- Smart (certainly smarter than Naruto and Kiba combined (awesome twosome))_  
_- Freakin' gorgeous (prettier than forehead!)_

She can't believe her eyes are stinging and her throat is thick. Ino sucks back a large, ungraceful sob and blinks away unbidden tears, pulling in her lips and inhaling a few bouts of air. When she's done she looks up at Naruto (who looks far too smug right now) and shakes her head, her face aching from desperately trying to force back a jaw splitting grin.

"You idiot," she croaks, "I can't hand this in."

"I never said that. Just keep it," he shrugs again.

Ino doesn't really understand it but her heart swells with warmth all the same. She folds the career sheet and stuffs it in her book bag, making a mental note to pick up another after school. Soon after Naruto is called back to check out another video and Ino is left on her own — now, however, she feels as if she might just be able to swim back to shore without being dragged under by the current.

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"Stop staring."

Kiba groans out loud, falling back into the bookshelf and sending Ino an open mouthed glare. He wasn't even _staring. _He was just _looking. _There's absolutely nothing wrong with checking out the view is there?

"It's creepy," Ino adds, as if hearing his thoughts. She shuts the book she was scanning and slides it back into place. Then she turns to look up at him and says, like she wants to bruise his ego, "Plus, girls like her don't go for gross guys like you." then she promptly twists on her heel, high ponytail swishing around, and leaves. Of course, Kiba follows.

He trails behind her and sulks. "Why though? There's nothing wrong with me. I'm _plenty _good looking… _better looking than Naruto at least,_" he mutters darkly. Ino stops down another aisle and runs her fingertips across the spines of textbooks, a crease forming in her pale eyebrows. She takes a moment to consider his words — in truth, Ino has no idea if Temari would go for him. Ino's never actually _seen _her date anyone, let alone show a shred on interest in Kiba, but whatever, maybe she's just shit at flirting? The only thing Temari seems to enjoy is playing contact sports (she has a mean streak, that one) and teasing her brothers.

Eventually Ino answers, "She just doesn't really seem… that into you." she trails off, unsure of her words.

Kiba makes a face. "What're you trying to say."

"Well," she says shortly, "She just doesn't really seem into… anyone?"

That stumps Kiba. Ino can see the cogs in his brain spinning wildly as he assesses the situation, and then — yep. His eyes grow wide, too wide, and his mouth parts, like he's suddenly quite thirsty. Ino sighs dramatically and leans against the bookshelf, preparing herself for the colossal shit storm that is about to fall from his mouth.

"Is she… a—a _lesbian?_"

"Christ, Kiba, could you be any freakin louder?" Ino admonishes, smacking him with a book she's been holding. He flinches back and curses, sending her another filthy look. It doesn't last as long as the one before, though, as he's already jumping down her throat with questions concerning Temari's elusive sexuality.

About ten minutes later they're both back at their original spot and both peering at Temari. Frankly, Ino has no idea if the girl is straight or not, and it's really hardly any of their business either way. But Kiba's incessant questions have left her curious, so they both agreed to just have _one last peep. _

Ino stands in front of Kiba on her tip toes and he towers behind her, his torso pressed against her back. He's strangely warm, like a furnace. Ino can't help but sink back into him, her eyes fluttering closed for a few seconds. She even ignores Kiba's moaning about "not being able to see" as she enjoys being unintentionally back hugged by her thick-headed, hot-tempered, bone-headed best friend.

She becomes so damn comfy she regrets to hear a chair scraping and feet trudging towards them. Kiba obviously doesn't either.

"What the hell are you two doing."

Kiba throws himself off of her so fast he falls back into the opposite bookshelf and swears so loudly the librarian actually _shh's_ them. Ino's heart beats right into her throat and she swears she's turned the exact same shade of a goddamn tomato. Severely embarrassed, she clears her throat and (feebly) says, "Thanks for getting that book for me, Kiba…"

Thankfully, he plays along. "Oh? Of course. Anything for a friend in need." he smiles charmingly at Temari, catching the irritated girl off-guard. Ino's so surprised to see the girls ears turn a pinkish colour she forgets about tact and throws Kiba the same Might Gai-like thumbs up. Dusting off her fingers she thinks, _job well done, girl, _and sweeps straight past the two as they strike up a conversation about the book Ino wanted.

She's incredibly relieved Kiba is such a great bullshitter, unlike Naruto, otherwise this might very well have fallen to pieces. Ino takes one last look over her shoulder and smiles, glad to see Kiba's smirk and Temari punching him in the arm playfully.

.

Ino thinks it's quite befitting that it should be raining on the day she's finally handed in her career sheet. She stands under the shelter of the entrance at school and sighs, reaching a hand out into the rain and testing it. Warm rain is always the worst. It's difficult to breath in, moist, and sticky feeling. Ino likes the winter a lot more, especially when it snows and she has an excuse to steal the boys' big jumpers.

With another audible sigh she steps out into the rain but just as she does that somebody walks out of the school and then she's suddenly dry.

Ino looks up at the orange umbrella above her head.

"Your hair'll get all frizzy if you get wet, ya know," he says, a tiny smirk on his lips. Ino thinks smirks suit people like Sasuke and Kiba more, but she has to admit that right now, in this very moment, Uzumaki Naruto looks especially handsome.

"How'd you know?"

He shrugs and moves forwards, Ino following close next to him. "I saw you leaving."

"No," Ino smiles, shaking her head, "How'd you know it would rain today?"

"_Ohhh. _Well, it's obvious isn't it?" he looks down at her, as if she might think so too. At Ino's dumbfounded expression, Naruto smiles and explains, "We've had freakishly hot weather for like, two weeks now. So, being the genius that I so obviously am, I figured its gotta rain sometime."

"So you've been carrying this umbrella around for two weeks?" Ino states, half-curious, half-amused. They're walking down a road surrounded by cherry blossoms now and the floor is littered with sodden pink blossoms, thousands having been trodden on. The mud and the pink and the reflection of the trees in puddles are oddly quite pretty against the meek darkness of the sky. Ino focuses on looking at the floor as they dawdle on.

Naruto shakes his head. "Nah, don't be silly. I've only had it for a week and a half," for some reason, she looks at him just as he looks at her and he winks down at her; so playful and cheeky and full of energy. So without a care in the world, "How'd your career thingy go anyways?" he asks, looking away. Ino swallows thickly at this.

"Fine, I guess," she answers shortly.

"Hey," he says softly, catching her off-guard and forcing her to look at him again. He stops and so does she and, for one wild, crazy moment she thinks — _is he about to kiss me? _but all he does is put his free hand on her shoulder (it's warm, warmer than Kiba even) and smiles that reassuring, honest smile of his. Like you can do absolutely anything so long as he's stood beside you. "You don't have to worry 'bout a thing. So long as you're happy, you can do whatever you want. Plus," he adds, "Kiba and I will always be with ya—maybe a few steps behind 'cause we're dumb as hell—but we'll always be there," he finishes, removing his hand and rubbing his neck, sheepish.

Ino doesn't hide her grin this time. She lets the warmth spread throughout her body and radiate out of her pores. Boldly, she takes his hand and pulls him into a hug, her hands bawling into fists around his school jumper and her face buried deep within his torso. She loves that he smells like noodles and pines and citrus herbal tea. Loves that he stumbles over his words as he awkwardly holds her back, his chin eventually coming to rest atop her head. Loves, loves, _loves _the way he mumbles into the silence that she'll be okay, because after all, she's Yamanaka Ino and she can do whatever the hell she puts her mind to.

When she pulls back Ino doesn't hide that there's a few stray tears falling down her cheeks. Naruto chuckles at her, pulling down his sleeve and dabbing them away with care.

Ino takes his hand in both hers, holding it between them. She looks up at him, her eyes shining and her face flushed bright red and says, "C'mon, idiot, let's go for ramen. My treat."

And he smiles so widely it's almost as if the sun has come out just for her.


	2. 1: where he sleeps & where she fell

**notes**: this is part one of a series. i'll post different chaps between one-shots probs (obviously depending on how busy i become etc etc).

**title**: where he sleeps and where she fell  
**summary**: two falling sparks, one willing fool.

_and fear on lips my guns are held  
(to the skin he felt and hands she held)_

-—emma louise

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**i**.

She wakes him at around four in the morning, the sound of her climbing through his open window with loud clarity. She balances preciously on the ledge, heels wobbling dangerously. He sits up on his palms and stares up at her, eyes squinting to the brightness of the moon looming just beyond her exposed shoulder. In this lighting her skin glows a certain porcelain, highlighting the row of moles that lay conspicious along the colum of her neck.

"I'm drunk," she declares, fingers clinging to his window to support her weight.

Naruto doesn't think it takes a genius to figure that one out, but he leans forwards anyway, offering out his hand for her to take. He thinks it's probably lucky for them both that his bed lay just inches from his large windows, otherwise she may very well have fallen by now. Ino's hand slips into his own, small and impossibly delicate, as his grip tightens. He navigates her onto his bed where she finally slumps into a sitting position.

Her hair eventually falls loose from the braid she'd obviously tried to maintain whilst intoxicated. Sheets of pale blonde fall around her shoulders, coming to stop just beneath her breasts. Naruto stares as she fiddles with her heels, desperately trying to pry them from her feet.

"Do you need some help?" he asks finally. Frankly, watching her struggle to do something as basic as removing shoes is just a small price to pay for waking him at this absurd hour. But he kind of feels sorry for her, and he's always had a weak spot for Yamanaka Ino, especially when she comes to him—of all people—at absurd times in the morning.

Ino lifts her gaze towards him and looks almost pained. "I—I don't want to look... _useless,_" she stammers, frowning, "but... these heels are stuck." and then she shoves her heeled foot in his face and stares at him like a helpless dog. Naruto bites back a laugh and takes a hold of her heel, tugging with enough force to take it off but not enough to hurt her. He knows had she been sober she would never had admitted to needing help. He quite likes seeing the vulernable side of Ino.

He likes it even more when she crawls on top of him once he's removed her heels. He makes no move to touch her but he doesn't say a thing when she bends down and touches his lips with her fngertips. "I'm sorry," she whispers, her eyes glazed over, "I know it's late. And I'm drunk. And wow, this is inappropriate—but—but I thought of you tonight."

"Thought what?" he looks up at her face. It's shrouded half in darkness, the other half lit up by the light streaming in through the windows. One of her blue eyes is watching him with almost vague clarity, like she's trying to understand her own words. Then he looks at her lips. Ino's biting down on her bottom one, teeth sucurely clamped down on the flesh. Naruto can't help the way he licks his own. He won't take advantage of her but he _will _think about what it's like to kiss her.

"You," she declares loudly, "you and I."

"What about you and I?"

She shrugs and rests her hands on his shoulders, steadying herself. In the process she rubs against his groin and Naruto almost lets slip a moan — _stop it you fucking perv _he can almost hear Sasuke's voice in his mind, that degrading sneer of his directed at full force at him. So Naruto clears his throat and gestures for Ino to continue.

"We've been friends for like, forever," she says, tilting her head. They've also had their fair share of disagreements too, but he keeps his mouth shut. "And well, I think you're pretty hot, y'know? Not like _Sasuke _hot which is like, hit by a sun kind of hot. And not even _Kiba _hot which is kinda like devil-may-care kinda hot—"

"Okay Ino," he interrupts, sudden urge to kiss her evaporating rather quickly, "I get the point. What was it you were thinking?" he prompts, a little irritation seeping through his voice. _Did she honestly wake me up to compare me to the bastard and dog breath? _

"Well. I was just thinking maybe we should fuck," she states, as if talking about the weather.

For a second he thinks he might have heard her wrong, but then she repeats the word _fuck _in a strangely seductive slur, leaning in closer and pushing him onto his back. Naruto's heartbeat suddenly starts to thump manicially, his breathing coming out quick and fast. Ino looms over him, beginning to grind into his crotch and it's then—right then when all his blood surges towards his penis—that he manages to get a fucking grip.

"Ino—_fuck,_" he exhales sharply as she pushes down harder, "no. Shit. _Shit, Ino. _We can't—not now. Y—you're drunk—_oh my jesus christ,_" he almost bites his tongue at the feel of her hand groping his erection over his boxers. His eyes roll back into the back of his head and for one second he thinks _screw it. _But then she stops quite abruptly and he looks at her, sudden panic overriding adrenaline.

"I think I'm gonna be sick."

And his erection dies immediately, but without it comes the rationale he quite carelessly left behind moments ago. Quickly, he grabs her and hurls her off the bed, dragging her towards the bathroom. As soon as she touches the toilet she vomits. Not once but three times. And then she cries a bit.

Naruto fetches her bread and water, sitting with her all night. Eventually she curls up into his chest and he falls asleep with his back pressed to the wall, a slight chill from the floorboard on his backside. Ino hugs him tightly, her hair tickling his abdomin but otherwise quite comfortable.

When he wakes with drool on his chin she's gone.

And so is the smell of puke in his bathroom. Naruto sits up and licks his lips, pushing himself up off the floor and cracking the stiff muscles in his back. He stumbles towards the sink and splashes his face with some water, attempting to wake himself up. He can't believe he almost let her have sex with him in that state. _Stupid, _he berates, staring back at his exhausted face, _you stupid goddamn fool. Sasuke's right. You _are _a perv. _


End file.
